Simon stood up, his quivering voice slowly becoming steady. "I...know some people back home, in Himlond. I...I can probably go and ask them if we can arrange some sort of arrangement regarding raw ore acquisition..."
They all looked shocked, unable to believe Simon could even dare suggest this to them. "Holy shit! I thought the only thing on your brains was just that long, thick piece of metal that would take you to the Moon! Since it was the only thing you ever spoke of for so long, I thought you were a Human Stargazer! And now you speak of metals? Ahahah...hahaha...ha?"
Her laughter trailing near the end, Goblina realised what she had done was wrong, so she quietly sank back into her chair, face slightly orange. Meanwhile, the group turned their attention back to Simon, faces unreadable. "Are you sure you can convince them? I mean, I don't want to sound rude and all, but despite living with you for nearly half a year, I never heard you talk about your home. For the longest time, I thought you were an orphan..."
Face scrunched quizzically, Lewis squinted at Simon, thoughts running wild. Huh, thought he was from a single-parent family – his mother. He always thought he had lost his father to an unknown mining accident. Never thought he was hiding it...
So, who is his father?
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Meeting adjourned, each made their way back to their respective laboratories, all with their own thoughts (they all wanted to make a list of what they needed, scratch that, wanted, from Himlond. Perks of nepotism...). Only one stayed behind, his expression growing sour...
As he sat brooding, a light knock was heard from the door. "Hey Simon, you okay?"
Despite not saying anything, he noticed how uncomfortable Simon looked as he stated how he could help the group reach Himlond. Despite not being as obvious, he saw how Simon's face was oily with sweat, face twitching every so often.
This told him Simon must have more uncomfortable memories associated with his home, and it must have some connection with his dead mother. Unable to bear seeing his first friend succumb to despair, Lewis forcefully smiled, trying to redirect the diwnfallen Dwarf's attention elsewhere.
"Hey, did you know that Kiana recently stole a jar of new types of jam. It was Painapple, and man was she dancing when she realised we forgot to remove Painpikes from the jam. Oh man, you should've seen how puffed up her mouth was! She could barely speak! And..."
Hearing the news, Simon could not help but crack a smile...
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Tap, tap, tap...
A short, stout man could be seen working under dim red light. With each tap, sparks flew off from his table, giving an angry vigour. Just as he was about to hammer into the metal sheet once more, he stopped, and turned his head. From beyond the great doors that separate him from reality, footsteps could be heard tapping furiously as it frantically approached the door.
"Boss, boss, we just got news! Durmast is dead!"
His red bushy eyebrows lifted in shock. Durmast was one of the greatest warriors that Clan Steelrun had to offer. Second to only him, he only became the clan head since he didn't want to stay stuck dealing with dreary bureaucracy. On the second day he became chief, he resigned, after crowning him as next in line.
"What about him?"
The figure could not help but shudder. "W-we don't know sir. We lost him after Durmast was buried..."
Praying not to be made into Dwarf kebab, he let out his breath when he heard he was pardoned. "Understood. Go, and keep me updated on any new happenings that occur. I must not be disturbed during my forging..."
Wiping his brow, the Dwarf swiftly left, unwilling to stay a second longer. What he did not notice was that as he was leaving, the older figure clenched his hands...
Tightly